Here are two very different stories about geography and its importance and place in the curriculum.

There should have been outrage about the proposed changes to the Australian Curriculum: Geography and the sense of pride in the story that we are getting back to the basics and not wasting time on 'fluffy' and useless subjects like geography. Again, humanities education is seen as a 'fringe dweller' of the real curriculum!

"History and geography will be
scrapped as separate subjects in the new national primary curriculum and a new Humanities and Social Sciences subject
will merge the existing topics of history, geography, civics and
citizenship, and economics and business into a single learning area". The back to basics focus will involve "Schools being mandated to teach phonics style reading as part of the curriculum." The Australian 8 August 2015

The positive story from the UK

After the rather 'back to basics' and uninformed coveragein the Australian papers last week re: the changes to the Australian Curriculum: Geography, it was somewhat affirming to read the following editorial from The Guardian on Friday14August 2015. The Editorial provided data on the growth of geography as a subject in the UK and succinctly advocated for geography as a 'must-have subject' in the curriculum.It would be great to read such a positive article in the Australian media about geography in the curriculum.

It used to be a Cinderella subject. Now, in a world that increasingly
values people who can work across the physical and social sciences,
geography’s all the rage

A star is born. Geography, for so long a Cinderella subject, the easy
option for students who found physics or chemistry too daunting, is
soaring in popularity. According to the Royal Geographical Society, 13% more took the subject at A-level this year than last, up to 37,100 – the biggest jump of any of the major subjects.Part of the explanation is Michael Gove’s determination to make
schools focus on more traditional academic subjects at GCSE and A-level,
rather than general studies or critical thinking. That is good for
those who can benefit from a narrower academic focus, but not so much
for those who struggle. It may be, however, that the bigger reason is
that geography is a subject for our times. It is inherently
multidisciplinary in a world that increasingly values people who have
the skills needed to work across the physical and social sciences.
Geographers get to learn data analysis, and to read Robert Macfarlane.
They learn geographic information systems. They can turn maps from a
two-dimensional representation of a country’s physical contours into a
tool that illustrates social attributes or attitudes: not just where people live, but how, what they think and how they vote.
They learn about the physics of climate change, or the interaction of
weather events and flood risk, or the way people’s behaviour is
influenced by the space around them.

All these are not just intrinsically interesting and valuable. They
also encourage ways of seeing and thinking that make geographers
eminently employable, which is why, according to the latest information
from the Higher Education Careers Services Unit,
only 5.8% of geography graduates were still job-hunting six months
after they graduated, against an average of 7.3%. So, year 9, globalisation: good or bad? And for whom?

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Who am I?

I have taught history, geography and civics and citizenship in the South Australian education system since 1976. I have been actively involved in the promotion of geography and history over the years, in particular the use of spatial technology in schools. I am a Past Chair of the Australian Geography Teachers' Association (Chair 2008-13) and Immediate Past President of the Australian Alliance of Associations in Education (2013-present). During the development of the Australian Curriculum: Geography I was a member of the ACARA Advisory Panel (2009-2013) and Executive Director of the ESA GeogSpace project. From 2007-2011 and in 2015 I was the Manager for the Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) in the South Australian Department for Education and Child Development (DECD). Presently I am a Teaching Academic in HaSS Education at the University of South Australia and the Manager for the Premier's ANZAC Spirit School Prize in DECD.